Ronald Reagan once told us, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” We see evidence of this all over our nation. Office holders enamored of their position as benefactors of the masses only see the upside of being saviors of the people. In fact, most of the upsides are merely the results of smoke and mirrors.

This city, once a major driver of the US economy and supplier of arms to defeat the Axis menace during World War II, has fallen on hard times as the American auto makers were slow to respond to the import invasion jobs moved elsewhere. Crime and corruption drove still more productive citizens from the city to the point where USA Today reports that there are 78,000 abandoned buildings within the city limits. What was left was a population of the poor and the dependent, all encouraged by the political class who was only too anxious to bring them in as wards of the city.

They responded just as planned by voting these people into power since the sixties… all supported by the unions who received sweetheart deals from the non-adversarial negotiations. It was these deals, along with the unwillingness to size the municipal government to the shrinking population of the city that brought financial ruin to this once prosperous metropolis. While things were going well, the national government could afford to help out… but now, even Uncle Sam is out of money. However, Detroit city council is still expecting to be bailed out of their self induced predicament. This is typical of the progressive left – pressing on to their workers paradise regardless of the obvious failures of their hair brained schemes. They have irrefutably proven the truth of Margaret Thatcher’s words when she said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money to spend.”

The relationship between the throne and the pulpit has always been a tenuous one at best. Since the days of Melchisedec, God intended that the office of priest and king be separate. Old Testament kings learned the hard way not to intrude into the priest’s office. God clearly intended that His prophets be free and independent men who possessed as much courage as they did faith. Reading the scriptural record of the Old Testament reveals that the prophecies and warnings of the prophets were aimed as much at the throne as at the village. And, more often than not, these prophecies were not well received (putting it mildly) by ancient Israel’s equivalent to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

King Amaziah commanded the prophet Amos to “prophesy not.” King Jeroboam I attempted to seize, with the intent to kill, the prophet. Fortunately, God miraculously protected His man. King Ahab looked everywhere for Elijah with the intent to kill him. Queen Jezebel tried to kill Elijah, as well. Ahab’s last act was to imprison the prophet Micaiah. Ahab’s son, King Ahaziah, tried to arrest Elijah three times and lost over 100 men in the process. Ahab’s second son, King Jehoram, tried to kill the prophet Elisha. King Joash killed Zechariah. King Amaziah beat God’s prophet into silence. King Jehoiakim killed Uriah. The prophet Jeremiah spent more time in prison than he did out. Israel’s kings falsely accused him, hated him, mocked him, persecuted him, and repeatedly imprisoned him. They even attempted to murder him, and without divine protection, would no doubt have succeeded. The prophets Amos, Micah, and Isaiah all record Israel’s kings as telling them to “prophesy not,” or in modern parlance, to “shut up.”

So egregious were the persecutions against God’s prophets by Israel’s kings that Jesus stood outside the capital city of Jerusalem and declared, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee.” (Matthew 23:37 KJV)

Legislation has been introduced by Senators Chuck Shumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) that would grant visas to foreign citizens who will come into the country and buy at least half a million dollars in real estate. It has been added to their new immigration bill with the idea of helping our floundering housing market. We are told it is a great deal all the way around as buyers with cash (hopefully) would be brought into the market, homes would be sold, real estate agents would get paid, banks may be able to reduce their inventory of foreclosed houses and, best of all, we are told, it won’t cost us a cent.

This sounds like a deal that is too good to be true. And, when we look at it a little more closely, it really is too good to be true. This has been presented as a bi-partisan approach to the problem. This description brought to mind the late comedian George Carlin’s thoughts about such proposals, “Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.”

While all the benefits we are supposed to experience because of this bill are necessary and to be desired, we really have to consider what we will do to get them. One of the provisions is that the visas will not be work visas, so buyers will have to have an independent source of funds. We are told that this is the kind of people we want… they are the priority immigrants. They are to be desired if they will come into our country and spend their own money. It is certainly better than people sneaking across the borders and becoming wards of the state.

The pressure of regime and media propaganda is showing as Speaker John Boehner fights to get his unpopular Plan B through the House of Representatives. It is not only unpopular with the Wicked Witch of the West and her minions on the Democrat side of the aisle, but with the true believer Tea Party types as well. On one side, they are unhappy because it is not a blank check to fund their progressive dream and on the other side because the new bill is kind of a weak sister version of the initial, less than ideal, Cut, Cap & Balance bill already passed by Mr. Boehner and company.

As I write this, the vote on the Plan B effort has been delayed – an obvious sign of dissension in the ranks that would deny the Speaker the 216 votes needed to pass this compromise with the non-functioning opposition. Even if he can twist arms, call in favors, blackmail or whatever enough of his own team to gain this legislative victory, it will most likely be of little consequence.

Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the same Senate that has been unable to pass a budget for several years, arrogantly announced that this new proposal would be “dead on arrival” in his wing of the capitol. He, like most Democrats, is good at blocking and destroying the good our government can do for the people, instead of controlling too many aspects of their existence. Already, before Plan B is even passed, Dingy Harry has arranged for all 53 Senate Democrats to agree to scuttle the bill. It’s sort of the reverse of Nancy Plosive telling House members that they have to pass ObamaCare so they can see what is in it. This time though, they are rejection legislation before it is fully formed, let alone passed.

Years ago, Wendy’s ran a commercial emphasizing the fact that they filled the hamburger bun while others gave more bread and less burger. The public loved it and picked up on the phrase “Where’s the beef” for the next few years. They understood that substance was more important than form. They understood that giving value was the important – that keeping the promise of a delicious product in a size that satisfied the consumer was the key to success.

The little man in the White House could learn a lesson from the nice old ladies looking for some substance in their food. Even those with impaired judgment who voted for him deserve to have a leader who will lead. Jon Stewart wondered if the President quit when he pre-empted the Bachelorette from his imperial hallway and all he could do was complain that no one – not the Republicans or the Democrats could come up with a plan that satisfied his lust for taxing the “rich” and borrowing money from anyone foolish enough buy our paper.

His solution to the impasse was not to lead and show us the way out of the mess that has his fingerprints all over it. Instead of showing us what we need to do, and convincing us that it will work, he complained that people just aren’t giving him his way, and he asked his Obamazombies to call their congressman. I guess it’s the only way he can communicate with capitol hill now that that leaders in both houses have decided to go work things out for themselves. Read more of this article »

Pastor Rick Warren continues to work at “fulfilling people’s needs.” His latest endeavor is “The Daniel Plan,” a 52-week health and fitness program. Pastor Rick has decided it’s high time to lose 90 pounds. But there’s more to his health plan than meets the eye.

“The church says all of its more than 5,000 small groups will go through “The Daniel Plan,” which is part of Saddleback’s “Decade of Destiny,” a 10-year plan launching this month “to help individuals succeed and be who God designed them to be in every aspect in life.”" (Online source)

On January 15, over 6,000 people flocked to Saddleback’s main campus while thousands more watched online at the other Saddleback campuses. Read more of this article »

Watching Barack Hussein Obama’s press conference this afternoon, I saw him say basically, “We spent the money suckers, now you have to come up with the bucks.” Now those weren’t his exact words, but he was saying “The money has been spent!” Which is partially true. Much has been committed, but not has been spent. He, his gang of thieves, and the previous administration have committed and over committed the taxpayers to all sorts of bills that many of us were adamantly opposed to.

He is acting like there is no changing the commitments, when in reality there is. We are told that there are some discretionary expenses, and entitlements which cannot be touched. Here is where he is wrong! Giveaways were passed and they can be repealed… and they can be adjusted. Progressives act as if one of their foolish expenses, once passed, can never be changed. He and his socialist advisors cannot conceive of putting a stop to such foolish spending as giving our dollars, our borrowed dollars, to countries that hate us. They cannot comprehend cutting off funds for such foolishness as gay film festivals in foreign venues, or hair brained research by the academic community. Once again we are back to the “We spent the money already suckers… now you pay for it!”

He was talking about the so-called August 2 deadline when we will have supposedly reached the point where we cannot pay our bills as a nation. He cannot comprehend, he says, cutting back on any of the commitments of taxpayer dollars that he and his cronies have made. He would rather drive us deeper into debt than take the actions necessary to extract us from the pit of indebtedness. Read more of this article »

On July 1, 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic for the first time. It was trim and elegant, the state of the art in suspension bridges. Only a few short months later, on November 7 of that same year, this same bridge succumbed to gale force winds and twisted itself into the makings of a man made reef at the bottom Puget Sound. Obviously there were some unrecognized flaws in the graceful design.

Many of us see other flaws in other designs all the time. Unfortunately, so many of them are not recognized by the designers until they are revealed by some unexpected tragedy. One design flaw currently working its way through our economy is the Federal Reserves monetary policy.

Our country was founded on the principles of thrift, economy and independence. Our central bank, along with other associated financial institutions, has been laying the groundwork for years to draw our country into a web of debt and dependence our forefathers would have rejected at first bloom. Ostensibly, to keep inflation under control they have kept their borrow window rate at sub one percent levels. Read more of this article »

We see all sorts of histrionics inside the beltway as our government faces yet one more showdown in the struggle to provide all the promised porkbarrel perks to the voters without totally bankrupting them. The Democrats say they see the problem, but tell us the needs are just too pressing in so many areas that it is impossible to significantly cut spending in any areas. About the best the Republicans can come up with is a plan to balance the budget in about five years.

Less than that, we are told would be “irresponsible”. It is somewhat understandable that expecting those, including government employees, to deal with a cut off of the flow of taxpayer funds is a little too much to expect. Psychologically it would appear difficult to pull the plug on programs that came about with “bi-partisan” support. Even Republicans have their pet programs they want to see continue in spite of the economic difficulties.

Speaker Boehner’s position that increased taxes are off the table is a welcome start. We can hope that he and the rest of the GOP contingent will hang tough on this. The proposal that any increase in the debt ceiling be accompanied by an equal reduction in spending is a good idea and represents symbolism that will put the progressive socialists in a terrible bind. To get the funds they need to carry out their schemes, they have to give up part of them. Read more of this article »

We, as a society, have no financial problems. Problems are things that come upon us that we have no control over. But when we create situations that are not good, we really can’t call them problems… they are really just the natural consequences of our actions. If I run my hand over a sharp knife and it cuts my skin, that is not a problem. It is a self inflicted injury. It is something that could be easily predicted and planned for. It still needs to be bandaged, but I have no right to complain about this terrible thing that happened to me.

We have all sorts of politicians of both parties weeping and wailing about our dire financial problems. They act as if this terrible thing has come upon their poor, innocent selves out of the blue and these hard working public servants are innocent victims of this unforeseen recession/depression. As with cutting our fingers with a knife, running out of money is the result of our government’s own actions… not by uncontrollable circumstances.

The people of this administration, and, to a lesser extent, the one before it, have no concept of the old saying, “If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.” Kids understand this basic economic concept, but somehow it escapes the grasp of our members of congress, even most state legislators. What is so difficult to understand about this… it’s not even higher math? Read more of this article »

While flooding the banking system with excessive amounts of fiat dollars, Fed Chairman Bernanke has talked endlessly about the need to avert deflation. Unspoken was the real reason: promoting inflation – robbing retirees and working people who are saving to support their retirements – in order to fund mounting federal debt.

It’s now clear that government stimulus spending, under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and unending expansion of the money supply by the Fed, have prolonged our agonizingly slow economic revival. That is hardly surprising, since no previous resort to Keynesian macroeconomics has worked as advertised. At most they have promoted stock market bubbles, and all such essays, beginning in the 1930s Depression, have led to continual and ruinous inflation.

I just read an interview with new RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, and, while he seems to be a good, dedicated man, it left me somewhat concerned about the future of our country. His predecessor, Michael Steele also is a good man, and he tried to do a good job. Yet, even if the new guy gets it all right, we need to be sure it is the job that needs to be done.

He has been hailed as the answer to the party’s financial woes. Woes that stem from the $23 million dollar debt left by the man who held the job before him. Somehow Steele is blamed for this financial fiasco as if his lack of fund raising skills was solely responsible for this debacle. Let’s think about this for a bit.

The Republican Party is the one that trumpets its dedication to fiscal responsibility. The thrust of the party line is that our national government running up unconcionable debt is the result of two factors – the amount of revenue and the amount spent. Yet, the party finds itself struggling under a load of debt… debt not all incurred by the former chairman. Like a less than successful football team, they seek to change their fortunes by changing the coach. The new guy seems to be doing fairly well as his efforts during his short tenure has reduced that debt by 2 million dollars. Read more of this article »

The Wisconsin capitol has been besieged by hundreds of teachers and other public union members protesting proposed legislation that would limit the ability of such unions to loot the public treasury. To hear union members tell their tale of woe, one would think they would be turned out of their homes and their children would die of starvation if they were to loose their “negotiated” advantages. This tax payer supported mob is angry that they may no longer be able to disrupt essential public services if the taxpayers don’t cater to their demands. Unlike the rioting in the middle east, this is not an uprising of the working class against a corrupt government. This is an uprising of the privileged class with the support of a corrupt national government.

This is a strike that has closed public schools in the liberal bastion of Madison and several other counties around the state. The events show that these teachers have infected their students with their socialistic propaganda to the point where the young skulls full of mush have joined them on the picket line. They have apparently convinced their idealist charges that they are standing up to “the man”. The idea that tax payers who are already hard pressed by the economic downturn should be hit up once again for more money to keep these unionized government employees in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed is just plain wrong. Read more of this article »

I often wonder how foolish the folks in DC think we poor schlubs are. Every time we, the people, fuss about higher taxes and government spending, we are told that if we don’t roll over and let them take more of our hard earned dollars, we will have to accept police, firemen and teacher layoffs as the price for governmental economy. It’s the same song over and over again.

Have you ever wondered why they want to drop such items from the budget first? Do they really think we would believe that is the most logical place to save money on state or federal budgets? Perhaps not, but the ruling class knows that we won’t get upset if their favorite boondoggle projects disappeared from public view. However, they know we don’t want to witness and increase in crime or see our homes burn down because of budgetary shortfalls. They know that even our union controlled, overfunded and underperforming schools would not be the first place economize, yet this is the story we hear.

This is because we all use these services and cutbacks would directly impact our lives. Recall the last time Republicans dug in their heels and refused to go along with the bloated budget during the Clinton administration. Some of the first things to be shut down were popular attractions like the Washington Monument and National Parks. They made their point by taking away the things that gave the most comfort and enjoyment to the American people. In Virginia, Governor Kaine (of DNC fame) closed down rest stops along the highways when he didn’t get the budget he wanted. Read more of this article »

Standing against earmarks, the process of setting aside a portion of allocated funds for a particular (sometimes pet) project has been the basis of many tea party backed campaign strategies. It is an easy shot at Washington establishment practices that smacks of personal power and privilege… two concepts the American people simply will not abide. It has become a bone of contention in the Senate where the brahmin legislators see such as the proper function of the ruling class to which they belong.

But, what is the impact of the congressional tradition? They are correct in telling us that earmarks only comprise two or three percent of the spending of our tax dollars. On one hand, if it were a morally and economically neutral event, we may be inclined to over look it’s hazards. On the other hand, when faced with such massive deficits, it would behoove us to start somewhere – where ever we can, even if it is only one percent.

We are also told that earmarks really don’t increase the amount spent. There are merely specifying where dollars that have already been allocated will be used for. In a way, it makes sense for our elected representatives to have more control over the destination of our dollars than leaving it to a bureaucrat making twice what a private sector employee would be paid for a similar job function. Read more of this article »

The Fed is, once again, showing us reasons why it a blight upon our economic landscape, and why they insist their work be accomplished under a shroud of secrecy, devoid of audits and other forms of oversight. Ben Bernanke announced that the Federal Reserve would be creating $600 billion dollars out of nothing buy US Treasury bonds. The geek speak used by the bureaucrat in question is “quantitative easing”. It is apparently meant to keep the unsuspecting public from knowing what is really going on.

The idea of pumping money into the financial system seems logical from a high level, run the country for the unwashed masses, type of thinking. It is based on the idea that life is just about numbers and if the Wall Street types are happy, their happiness will trickle down to the little people. No matter what name they give it, this scheme is just on one more try at another stimulus program. The Fed takes nothing and credits bank accounts in exchange for the bonds. The Fed gets away with it because a central bank is allowed to do this sort of thing, you or I would go to jail for such a caper.

By buying up these bonds, the Fed is putting cash in the hands of investors, hoping they will put the money to work in the economy. This is assuming that the availability of this cash will overcome the reticence of businessmen to invest anything in an economy run by an unstable government creating an questionable environment where the returns are doubtful. Bernanke is uncertain the plan will work, small businessmen are uncertain. Read more of this article »

There’s an old fable about the goose that laid the golden egg. In it, there was a farmer and his wife who had a goose that would lay a golden egg every day. Because of this goose, they prospered. They had a nicer home than the surrounding farm families and the farmer even had a nicer tractor than his neighbors… one with air conditioning and a CD player. (Yes, I know, the fable was written before we had tractors, but use your imagination.)

As often happens, the farmer and his wife became discontented with their level of prosperity and became greedy for more. Thinking there was some reservoir of gold inside, they took a knife and sliced the goose open, and found nothing but goose innards. For their efforts, all they had was a dead goose, enough for a big meal, plus a couple of sandwiches – probably not very tasty ones at that.

This is exactly what our businesses and government have been doing to our goose, the free market system that has produced more prosperity for more people than any other system in the world. Even the poorest among us lives better than those who are thought of as well off in many parts of the world. If this were not the case, why would so many be sneaking across our southern borders from ineffective and incompetent systems to steal some of the golden eggs from our goose? Read more of this article »

There is an interesting discussion taking place in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a result of Governor Bob McDonnell’s proposal to privatize the ABC stores currently run by the state. No, it has nothing to do with education, it is the state run enterprise of the Alcoholic Beverage Control stores. The governor claims that moving forward would raise around 500 million dollars that is sorely needed by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

Almost everyone agrees the VDOT needs the money as roads and bridges have seriously deteriorated as a result of years neglected maintenance and new construction delays. Money alone will not cure all the chaos that reigned in the department for several previous administrations, but they can’t move forward without it.

McDonnell is taking heat from both sides for his plan. As expected, Democrat leaders are fearful that the taxes on the privately owned stores would not replace the revenue from the state run stores. Revenue is their life blood, where ever it comes from. Some sincere religious conservative leaders are concerned privately owned stores will make the acquisition of hard liquor easier with the potential for increased abuse. While this is a valid concern, both objections miss the real question.

The thing no one is asking is, “Why is the government operating these post-prohibition era retail stores in the first place?” Is this really a proper function of government? While alcoholism is a problem in our society, we need to look into why the government should be the pusher of this product that has been detrimental to some. I find that question even more troubling. Read more of this article »

Often times the truth is best explained through humor. Penn & Teller cut right to the heart of Barack Hussein Obama’s economic policy and explain why Milton Friedman was right when he said, “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.”

Today is the day all the economic and governmental theories come together to impact each of us personally. This is the day the waste in Washington and in the state capitols around the country comes out of our pockets. It is no longer an abstract concept that is the domain of academics with no real world experience. It is the day dollars are taken from your pockets and bank accounts and put into the hands of those who have not earned them.

There are some who live in a fantasy world that believe moral values are not necessary to maintaining a solid conservative government. They reject the idea that it takes a firm set of convictions to stop government waste and intrusion. They call themselves “fiscal conservatives” and want us to believe that the only qualification to be worthy of our support is to be in favor of a smaller government that minimizes its interference in their lives and lowers our taxes. Many of them do this in the guise of promoting what they call a “big tent” party.

They are ones who want to believe that killing unborn children is all right, but they still want lower taxes. While this specious goal may be theoretically attainable, in practice, it has never worked out. We are told that the death of innocent children and acceptance of aberrant lifestyles is something we should overlook so we can reduce the roll of government in our lives. To some extent it is possible to accept the premise that the national government has no business regulating these practices… if its hands are tied so it does not prevent the states from doing to.

The reality is that when the chips are down and the bare knuckle brawl begins, it is generally only the hard core fiscal AND social conservatives that are standing strong against higher taxes and beltway intrusion. So many of those who would have us believe their “fiscal conservatism” alone would save us have fallen by the wayside as they cave to the pressures of the progressives who have no such moral dilemmas or sell their allegiance to the highest bidder. These progressives and their corporate cronies know they want power, and power comes from bigger and bigger government operations. Read more of this article »

Yesterday I received a long awaited letter in the mail. It came from the US Department of Commerce, Economics ad Statistics Administration. Along the bottom, it read US Census Bureau. Above the window it read United States Census 2010. With fingers trembling with anticipation I tore open the envelope believing that finally I was going to see all the fabled questions I was not going to answer.

Instead of the official, government authorized census form, I got a letter that read… in bold print yet, “About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail.” The letter went on to tell me how important it was that I fill out the upcoming form so my community would get it’s “fair share” of the borrowed money coming from the beltway bandits. Well, it wasn’t phrased quite that way, but that was the point.

I probably don’t have to tell most readers about this letter, because they apparently sent this out to almost everyone who is anyone. This was annoying on so many levels. First, just massive waste of such a mailing at a time when our government is running out of cash and borrowing from those who are not particularly friendly to us, or just printing more. They are telling us how important their government activities are and how we need to pay attention to them. Read more of this article »

“You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.” So goes the wisdom of Barack Hussein Obama as he speaks of frugality in the face of financial distress. This message doesn’t quite ring true as it falls from the lips of one whose only known solution to problems is to spend and spend some more of the taxpayers money in a vain attempt to raise a sinking economy.

On one hand, this utterance of truth is good advice. On the other hand, it reveals a pathology that should give us all pause. Yet, the advice makes sense and we all would do well give it serious consideration. With all the uncertainty, it would seem a smart strategy to not spend money we don’t have on things we really don’t need.

Good financial advisors are counseling people to get out of debt and save their money. Unfortunately, this type of behavior is not the kind of thing that will rejuvenate our troubled financial world. Businesses need customers, people need to spend less money. This is an awkward situation… one that might be remedied if the good citizens felt more confident in their futures and our government were not quite so intent on snagging so much money form their pockets. Read more of this article »

Democrats, desperate for votes, have taken to promoting the idea of legitimizing illegal immigrants under the guise of adding them to the rolls of taxpayers and getting them to pay their share. This idea appeals to the many hard working Americans who do their jobs and pay their taxes… just happy to get some kind of a refund rather than having to dig deeper into their already depleted pockets to give our “betters” in Washington more money to waste.

While the tax code is somewhat public knowledge – as much as any set of rules that massive can be, most of middle America is blissfully unaware that not only do the bottom 50% pay no income tax, many actually receive appreciably more than they pay into the system. Through the magic of what the IRS calls refundable credits, such as earned income, child and child care credit, it is not unusual for someone in these tax brackets to receive a refund two to three times the amount that was withheld for taxes.

This may seem incredible to the average taxpayer, but it is a truth we are living with and paying for. Some will say we should not begrudge these people the extra cash in their pockets as they don’t have too much. There is an element of truth for those of us who care about those around us and individually we should do all we can for them. However, when done as a matter of national policy, what it amounts to is something near and dear to the hearts of progressives through out the land… and that is the transfer of wealth from those evil folks who earn their pay and have the audacity to want to keep it. This wealth transfer is their time honored technique for using taxpayer money to buy the votes that keep themselves in office. Read more of this article »

This video, while done in fun, illustrates the two primary competing economic theories in the world today. John Maynard Keynes is revered by the progressives as they both teach that government intervention will solve all our economic woes. If problems aren’t solved, it just means that they have not manipulated the system enough. Spend and put money in the hands of the little people. Encourage them to spend… not save! We are told by this administration that despite the fact that this spending is digging us a financial hole that we may never climb out of, everything thing will be fine. The question is… fine for whom? We the people or them, the controllers?

The thinking of F.A. Hayek and others in the Austrian school are not quite as well known and followed. The Austrian philosophy explains that the boom and bust economic cycles occur precisely as a result of the economic intervention of governments throwing money into the economy in an effort to pump it up in a effort to force perpetual expansion. The problem is that sooner or later the economic activity runs out of steam and the inflated economy comes crashing down further because of it was lifted up higher. Read more of this article »

We, as a society, have no financial problems. Problems are things that come upon us that we have no control over. But when we create situations that are not good, we really can’t call them problems… they are more like natural consequences. If I run my hand over a sharp knife and it cuts my skin, that is not a problem. It is a self inflicted injury. It is something that could be easily predicted and planned for. It still needs to be bandaged, but I have no right to complain about this terrible thing that happened to me.

We have all sorts of politicians of both parties weeping and wailing about our dire financial problems. They act as if this terrible thing has come upon their poor, innocent selves out of the blue and these hard working public servants are innocent victims of this unforeseen recession/depression. As with cutting our fingers with a knife, running out of money is the result of our government’s own actions… not by uncontrollable circumstances.

The people of this administration, and, to a lesser extent, the one before it, have no concept of the old saying, “If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.” Kids understand this basic economic concept, but somehow it escapes the grasp of our members of congress, even most of our state legislators. What is so difficult to understand about this… it’s not even higher math? Read more of this article »

In recent columns, I have reported on both the attempted takeover of the Hardin, Montana, jail facility by a private mercenary force and a Chinese story that the White House would fly the Communist Chinese flag in honor of the 60th anniversary of Mao’s revolution of 1949, which brought the Reds to power (initially killing as many as 3 million Chinese people, and resulting in the deaths of more than 50 million people during those 60 years).

See those columns at:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090909.html

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20091009.html

I promised readers that I would keep an eye out for these stories and provide necessary updates. Well, here are those updates.

The Hardin, Montana, Update:

On Friday, October 9, the private mercenary company that had attempted to take over the Hardin jail facility, American Police Force (APF), announced that it was pulling out of negotiations on contracts with the Two Rivers Authority (the economic development arm of the city of Hardin) to operate the facility. This announcement was made after my column was released and many other news sources, Internet bloggers, and talk radio hosts blitzed the story to the public. We showed how APF’s frontman, Serbian immigrant Michael Hilton, had a criminal record, and is, in fact, currently facing criminal charges for fraud in California. We also reported that APF had fraudulently attempted to identify itself as the “City of Hardin Police Department” by patrolling Hardin’s streets with Mercedes-Benz SUVs with Hardin police markings stenciled on the sides of the vehicles. (The city of Hardin does not have a police department. The city is policed by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office.) Read more of this article »

On July 10, Barack “I owe these unions” Obama’s Office of Management and Budget issued a policy memorandum to all federal department and agency heads “encouraging” the use of costly project labor agreements (PLAs) that pushed unionized labor to the front of the line when hiring for federal construction projects. This memorandum was issued in coordination with Executive Order 13502 (available at http://bizy.be/rmASp) which further clarifies the union preference for projects over $25 million.

These union workers represent only about 16% of the construction labor force, yet after supplying millions of dollars to the Obama campaign and thousands of foot soldiers to execute the political ground game, they are now in the preferred position for the taxpayer financed government projects.

PLAs have been touted as lending more stability to the projects. Sometimes they workout, as they did decades ago with the Hoover Dam project. Sometimes they don’t. Boston’s Big Dig project is an example of a project at the mercy of the unions run amok. The project’s budget ballooned from $3 billion to over $15… with a “B” and went years over schedule. Read more of this article »

Many years ago, the Republicans in Virginia came up with a document that sums up what the party says they believe. It pretty much covers the range of issues that concern Virginians and Americans. It presents viewpoints that most citizens could agree with and support. The creed goes back to the beliefs that drove our Founding Fathers when they created a new nation. This is what the Virginia Republicans say they believe:

That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice,

That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society,

That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government,

That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations,

Some interesting news coming through the usual sources tells us that the Obama administration is drawing up plans to take over any company whose failure would represent a substantial hazard to the US economy. White House spokesperson Austan Goolsbee contends that there are companies that have become such a part of the economic infrastructure that their failure could bring down the entire system. One might look at this as an argument for less of the hyped interdependence promoted shamelessly by our “leaders”. It would be an outstanding reason to build some firewalls into the system.

The misguided arrogance of this plan is overwhelming. First because of the economic track record of our government in having any idea of what will happen down the road and second because of their supposed ability to fix such problems, should they actually exist.

We have seen the accuracy with which they predicted and fixed the the mortgage meltdown. They consistently reassured us that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were doing just fine until one fine day it all changed and we, the taxpayers needed to give them billions of our, or our grand children’s money. They kept driving down the standards for giving loans, then were astounded when these loans blew up in our collective faces. To be fair, this is not because of their lack of economic understanding. Their actions supporting the mortgage industry were based on give-away politics rather than than any kind of economic expertise. There were goals that needed to be attained that reached far beyond and around the good of the regular citizens. Read more of this article »

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